Legacy of Regret
by Fatebringer-16
Summary: Based on the Advent Children trailers, this story contains some SPOILERS for the future movie. Rated R for Violence and Cursing (Cid)
1. Chapter 1: Advent Children

**Chapter - 1: Advent Children**

Yazoo and Loz sat down by the river outside the sea-shell shaped building they had been sleeping in for the past few weeks, the cold wind nipped at their patience, today was the day Kadaj was going to address the children. This place always had such a somber tone to it, the gray clouds in the sky, the gentle snow covering the ground, and most of all that wind, it whistled as it blew through the hallways and open spaces. The three of them were already in down moods, only four days ago, they found out that Shin-Ra did not have their "mother" on board the helicopter that the they waylaid and ransacked. Kadaj had been in meditation most of the morning and told the others to wait for him outside, they agreed and left, that was five hours ago.

"Am I the only one feeling that something is wrong?" Yazoo softly asked aloud.

Loz cracked his head to the side and ran his hand over his neck rubbing the back. "No, I fear that our plans wont go as we thought they would originally," he replied, "Kadaj wont see it, he refuses to give up hope."

Yazoo checked his gun once again as he had one hundred times over, and his companion hurled a rock into the lake, watching it skip across the surface a few times before vanishing underwater.

he reflected on his life as he watched the ripples in the water race towards him, he remembered spots and images of years long past in a small town, his childhood was only shattered frames that didn't make sense to him anymore.

The only three events that stuck out to him were, playing a game with some other children one was a boy with blond hair, a girl with long brown hair, and a rather tall child a few years older then him with wavy black hair and stern facial features. They were playing some sort of a game in a grass field outside town.

Another was full of sorrow as he remembered someone very dear to him dying in a terrible fire, he could not remember if it was his brother or his father.

The last memory was of men in uniforms coming into town and gathering all of the children and survivors together, only he and the kid with wavy black hair were among the ones shown into the mansion.

After that, sometime in the last two years Kadaj found him and Loz wandering aimlessly around some mountain peaks, he told them of all that had been going on and offered him a chance to see the Promised Land, a place were everything could be right, and they would go with their "mother"

Kadaj walked out into the dim light that surrounded the sullen city, the others turned to face him as he approached. "I don't…sense "mothers" presence as much today," he sighed, still holding up a façade of confidence.

"Are we ready to resort to The Recalling?" Yazoo questioned their leader.

Kadaj leaned his head back, considering the idea, and then stated while still looking at the sky. "Yes, we might be." he turned away from them and further considered his course of actions. "I still need two more children to complete the final circle," he announced over his shoulder. "Go find them."

Yazoo road his bike through the slums of Midgar, he lost sight of Loz a few minutes ago near the old church, but figured he could find more people in a more rebuilt part of the city. After awhile he stopped and put the kickstand on his bike down, he was in front of a building with a sign in hanging from it that said "7th Heaven". There was a light on upstairs and he saw a young kid with brown hair in the window, looking at the sky, and figured this was as good a start as any. When he opened the door, he saw a counter in front of him with drinks on it, an old arcade game over in the corner, and stairs leading upwards. This was a rather well lived in place, he thought to himself as he climbed the staircase onto the next floor.

Denzel heard someone enter through the door downstairs and moved over to the hallway to see if Marlene was going to run up and sit with him some more, they had been gone for awhile, Tifa, and Marlene, he was almost getting worried but he knew this had to be them. That feeling of worry flooded back to him when he saw a man with silver hair and black leather step out of the stairwell.

"Hello," Yazoo said offhandedly as he scanned the child's body for bandages or wounds. "Don't worry; you can be rid of the Star Scar if you come with me."

"Where is Tifa?" the kid asked as he raised his eyebrows. "And Marlene?"

"Ah, she sent me to come and get you," he lied. "Now if you want I can take you to her and the rest of them."

"I don't know," Denzel mumbled, she had told him to wait here and not to leave under any circumstance, but he was eager to get rid of the disease that plagued him.

"Yes you do," Yazoo teased. "You want to be rid of it, it hurts doesn't it?"

Yazoo made it back to The City of the Ancients first, with Denzel in toe, Kadaj was pleased as he inspected the child's wounds.

"Yes, we can use this." he remarked to Yazoo while kneeling in front of the kid.

"Use me?" Denzel asked with a puzzled look on his face.

Kadaj smiled and stood up. "Yes, we need all of the children to help us and together we will cure you all." he said as he turned back and began to get ready for tonight.

Loz arrived late, when he got there Kadaj had already gathered the kids to the raised platform next to the shell structure, Loz motioned Marlene into the crowd of children and moved to the side left of Kadaj and opposite Yazoo. The stern look on his leaders face showed displeasure with his overly long trip, and he knew he would hear about it later.

Kadaj was a great orator to the children, he went on and on about the Promised Land, and the Reunion with their "mother".

He stepped off the platform and pointed to the children. "Together with all of your spirits we can call on those once past," he shouted. "All of us can go to this land I have spoken of, we will use the power of Geostigma against itself and be free of this trapping!" suddenly his body began to glow with blue flame. "I will now summon forth power that will keep the unworthy away from what is rightfully ours!" his voice lowered and raised as the fire got bigger and was licking the tree branches above him.

To Kadaj the world turned white, and he could no longer see anything or anyone else, then before him a katana like sword materialized, it was more then twice as long as any other, it was Masamune. His smiled reached ear to ear as he reached for the handle, but when his hand touched it he felt the power within him dissipating, and suddenly it burst, a huge explosion, the world faded back to normal and he passed out.

Somewhere else, someone awoke and opened his eyes.

A few minutes later Kadaj opened his eyes to see Yazoo and Loz leaning over him, he was first filled with relief that he was still alive, and then anger crashed in.

"One of them doesn't have Geostigma!" he screamed to his two followers as he stood. Marlene took the bandage of Clouds out of her pocket and looked at it, this must have been why Loz kidnapped her she thought as she quickly wrapped it around here arm and faked a cough. Kadaj stopped cold in his tracks suddenly and stood still. "Someone has entered the forest and is coming towards us." he said as he turned around to face the children. "Are you all ready to get closer to "mother"?" he grinned evilly and his eyes beamed.


	2. Chapter 2: Revelations

**Chapter - 2: Revelations**

Cloud tried to lean up, but the pain from the Geostigma in his arm and the bike crash mingled and made him wince, he silently cursed himself for falling into this trap. Kadaj slowly approached him and drew his blade menacingly; the children straightened their formation as he walked closer to the prone Cloud. The children's eyes were blank and cat like; they stood there unmoving and stared at the scene unfolding.

"So you did come, I was beginning to think you would miss the Reunion" Kadaj smirked as he taunted Cloud.

Cloud then noticed his sword had dug into the dirt close to a tree nearby. "I am here for them." he said, his voice full of mock determination. All he needed was the sword, he moved his elbow up a little and tried to pull himself along, but even that hurt to bad.

Kadaj tilted his head sideways and continued to look at him for a moment, then turned around and addressed the children. "This traitor lying in front of us was once our brother!" he ranted, "but he cannot see what we see, he has given up the path," he took a few steps closer, bringing him within sword reach of Cloud, "and turncoats must be punished!"

Cloud looked back to him as he lowered his weapon to his neck. He knew then that it was over, that he would soon see Aeris again. He locked eyes with Kadaj and showed no fear, accepting his fate. A bullet flew from the treetops and collided with the katana, wrenching it from his hand as he stumbled backwards in shock.

"What?" he screamed as a dark shape leapt from the trees to where Cloud was laying and grabbed him. The shadowy figure then swept across the circle, to the tree, and began to leap over it. As he passed by, Cloud grasped onto his sword that was buried at the base of the tree and pulled it free. Kadaj ran to recover his blade, but by the time he looked next they were both gone, into the night…

After covering enough distance to be satisfied, Vincent stopped in a clearing by a small pond, and let Cloud drop, rather uncaringly, to the ground.

"Thanks." he said as leaned up a little to survey his surroundings. Vincent stayed silent and straightened his posture. "No, really, you saved my ass back there." Cloud pushed, trying to provoke a response from the extremely reserved red-cloaked man, he was greeted by a nod in return as Vincent turned to look out over the water.

They sat for a moment in silence and then Vincent spoke in his abnormally deep voice. "Your arm, was it injured in the crash?"

"No, it's not that," Cloud stated cryptically, he hadn't noticed he had been holding it. Vincent turned to him and kneeled down next to his arm, and examined it. "So what causes," he lingered. "…it?"

"Geostigma is when your body has worked itself beyond its limits to remove the evil that has invaded It." he explained as he stood and began to pace away from Cloud.

"Jenova…" he muttered as he looked to the ground and ran a hand through his spiky yellow hair.

"There is something, much like the planets own life stream that lives inside of all of us, that combats the wickedness that has threatened to consume us," Vincent continued as he reached the tree and turned back to face Cloud again. "As long as it, The Calamity from the Skies, still remains, more of those just like Sephiroth will be made."

Another long moment of silence passed as Cloud got to his feet. Just then they both heard a rustling in the nearby bushes, Cloud turned and reached for his sword, as Vincent drew his gun and readied it, Marlene emerged from the foliage. Cloud halted and Vincent returned his gun to its holster.

"Marlene!" Cloud breathed heavily.

"Cloud!" she sniffed, nearly to tears, "Denzel is, and Tifa is…" she let her legs collapse out from under her as she plopped to the grass sobbing quietly.

Cloud tried to clear his thoughts, he was relieved that Marlene was all right, but he needed to confront Kadaj and his gang again to learn the truth. "Vincent, let Marlene stay here with you, I need to go back and deal with those three again."

"I don't think that will be acceptable." he stated flatly as he saw Marlene's face turn red with anger.

"Cloud, why don't you ever care about all of us, you never ask how anyone else is doing!" she yelled, more upset about him hiding his condition from them then about this current event, she turned and ran into Vincent, clutching his mantle.

Cloud blinked twice, taken aback by her words. "Marlene…" he mumbled as he kneeled down to reach what would be her eye level. "Those men back there are trying to return things to as they were before, a battle will come that could threaten everyone on the planet." he rationalized, "You understand, right?"

"No, I don't understand!" she cried, he voice quivering. Vincent tilted his head down to look at her and blinked once, a great show of emotion from him.

Cloud sighed deeply; he never wanted to hurt her feelings. "Please try to…" he mumbled under his breath. And then a memory surfaced.

"I would really like to get to know the "real" Cloud, maybe someday…" the voice of Aeris reverberated off the walls of his subconscious.

"The real Cloud?" his own thoughts echoed back.

Marlene had turned to peek at Cloud, his head was lowered to the grass and his appearance seemed different for a moment before he looked up and her again and met eyes.

"I'm…I'm sorry, Marlene." he softly stated. "Sometimes I get too caught up in my own world, and I block everyone else out."

Marlene watched him in silence for a little longer and then let go of Vincent's garb, slowly lowering her hands to her sides. "Vincent, do you believe in forgiving someone?" he questioned, as he rose to his feet again.

"I wouldn't know I have never had that experience." he said honestly.

Cloud grinned and stretched a hand out for Marlene, she quickly ran over and grabbed onto it. "Let's go home…" he whispered down to Marlene, and then looked back to Vincent, he nodded to Cloud and Cloud returned the favor before walking off into the distance.

Vincent stood there unmoving, and from behind him, a figure walked out of the dense forest.

"Looks like we got work ahead of us." he muttered, it was a younger boy, about the same age as Kadaj with brown hair of about the same length, carrying a very large singled bladed axe made of shining mythril over his shoulder, and wearing a stark white cloak that billowed around him and glinted with white-green light, inlaid inside the clasp was a small white orb.

"I never blamed him for my death, it had to be done and there was nothing he could have changed." a familiar female voice stated. Vincent nodded.


	3. Chapter 3: Dark Clouds

**Chapter - 3: Dark Clouds**

Vincent's footsteps echoed through the empty hallways of the Shin-Ra mansion, he pulled back the left sleeve of his suit to check his watch, they were late. He was stationed here in this rural town to guard a group of scientists on some sort of project, and was sent a week early to check out the surroundings, if their discovery was as large as it sounded back at HQ then he figured there may have been some troublemakers around here. He straitened his suit out, he liked to make good first impressions, it was key to establishing trust if it was needed.

The Young Turk looked calm, cool, and well calculated, as if every movement was planned and well thought out. He shuffled over towards the window, separated the blinds with two fingers and looked out, there was a truck outside, it was the same one as before, they were shipping supplies for the Project to the basement of the mansion. They were just now driving off, and Vincent figured the rest would be here soon, but curiosity won over, and he went to the basement.

He walked down a strange tunnel at the bottom of a large spiral staircase, it was a room hidden from the rest of the house, but his clearance level was high enough to be informed of its location. At the end of the hall he entered the laboratory where the equipment had been set up, he moved among the boxes that were lined up in front of empty bookcases. Most of the boxes contained books, papers, thesis's on different topics, general texts that didn't interest him, then he came up to a small metal box with the letters, J E N O V A, stamped on the front steel plates. He bent down and lifted the lid, inside there were vials of various sizes filled with strange liquid he had never seen before, he cocked his head to the side, he was not extremely well versed in science but something about this unnerved him. From upstairs, he heard the sound of footsteps and quickly closed the box before heading to the door of the lab. He stopped in front of the closed door, ran his hand through his long, black hair and stood tall. Professor Gast was the first to reach the end of the hallway, he was flanked by Doctor Hojo, Gast was older and looked more world worn, Hojo had pale white skin and greasy black hair, he looked like he had not seen much daylight in years.

"Uh…" Gast delayed. "Vincent right?" he was returned with a slight nod.

"May I be so bold as to inquire as to just what exactly you are doing down here, Turk?" Hojo snapped.

"I was insuring the safe delivery of your supplies, Doctor." Vincent responded coldly.

Hojo huffed and bushed past him, heading into the lab to make sure nothing had been tampered with.

"Vincent," Gast addressed formally. "Could you go help my partner with her bags?"

"As you wish." said demurely, he was lightly insulted that they would give him such a demeaning task, but his complete boredom made him pray for anything that would keep him busy.

Lucecia fumbled with her suitcases and bags while trying to grab the doorknob when the door opened, looking right at her was a tall man in a crisp blue dress suit with dark piercing eyes. He couldn't help but stare as he grabbed one of her suitcases and helped her inside, her long brown hair was wrapped in a ponytail and her deep, blue eyes sparkled in the quickly fading sunlight.

"Thank you, Vincent." she said as he led her upstairs.

"You know my name?" he asked with a puzzled look painted on his face.

"Yes," she nodded. "We were given report files on the Project, and those involved."

He knew, he himself had read one of those files, but he much enjoyed hearing her explain it to him, he couldn't tell if it was because of her voice or her personality. They talked off and on while taking the long trek to the basement.

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Lucrecia had sat for the last six hours and was getting drained, work was so hard and there was no relief. Vincent had wandered down into the lab and watched her, his plan was well formulated and planned, he moved over next to her.

"Hey, you want to give that computer a break and come have a bite to eat with me?" he asked.

Lucrecia garbled some sort of response, but she was too caught up in her research to hear what he even asked.

"You ok, you look tired." Vincent continued, but was met with the same response.

Fed up with it he moved behind her laptop and pushed the screen down as she was reading.

"Hey! What's the deal…" she started. "Oh, Vincent when did you come down here?"

He chuckled and a grin spread across his face. "I came to see how you were, your colleges left for lunch and you stayed behind, want to grab a meal with me, my treat."

"Oh, I don't know I should finish this-" she considered, but Vincent cut her off.

"You haven't left the house in two days; the sunlight would be good for your complexion."

"I guess we I could, I am hungry."

"Yea, and you don't want to start looking like Hojo, he looks like a vampire."

Lucrecia chuckled, she didn't dislike Hojo as Vincent did, but it was funny how pale he was, she just figured he needs to go spend a weekend in Costa De Sol.

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"So how is your progress coming along?" Vincent inquired about the Project; it had been five months since they came here.

"Not much of a breakthrough," she said, as she held Vincent's hand while walking through town. "We have had some setbacks."

In the five months he'd known her they had started to grow close, Vincent was smitten with her, she was the perfect person to drive away his demons, the dark memories that haunted him every day were gone in her presence, he felt safe and secure. She had been troubled lately because her partner, Professor Gast had gone missing, he never came back from a reporting trip to Midgar, but he sensed something darker bothering her.

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"What is the meaning of this, Hojo?" she shouted when she came into the lab and saw a person strapped to the table with a needle in his arm.

"Don't tell me you're as narrow-minded as that bullheaded Gast?" Hojo remarked with a sneer.

"But that's a person, not lab mice; we don't know what effects it could have on humans."

"In great science, sacrifices must be made," Hojo preached. "For the good of all man-kind."

"But…"

"No!" Hojo yelled. "If we succeed with this it could be the gateway to the Promised Land!"

Lucrecia though on that for a while, the doctor never took his fierce stare away from her. "How does this have anything to do with the Promised Land?" she questioned

"Do you know nothing?" Hojo sighed. "If we clone another Cetra from the cells of Jenova, that person could travel to the Promised Land, and with our funding behind him, he could lead us into a land rich with Mako energy."

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"Lucrecia, before you go, could I speak with you a second?" Vincent asked as he stopped in front of the gates to the mansion.

"Sure, what's on your mind Vince?" she asked.

Vincent hugged her and then knelt down on one knee in front of her, pulling a case from his pocket; he opened it and slid the ring onto her finger. "Marry me, Lucrecia?" he softly mouthed as he smiled cheerfully. This was going to be the happiest day of his life, he felt like a different man then when he came to this mission, he felt confident in his humanity for the first time in along time, next to the woman he loved and wanted to make his wife.

Lucrecia choked, tears streamed down her face as she turn and ran away from Vincent. His lower lip quivered and tears started to flow down his face, as he watched her, he could feel the clouds coming back to him, he felt alone, he felt rejected.

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"Just as I feared," Hojo spoke as his eyes scanned the printout from the computer. "The full grown human body rejects the J-cells as if they were a disease."

"But how could that be?" Lucrecia wondered.

"Something about the cells," Hojo mumbled to himself. "But, if we could put the cells into a person before their immune system forms."

"We would have to use a fetus, nothing else would work." Lucrecia pondered, not drawing the same conclusion as the doctor.

"Yes, a fetus." he replied cryptically as he stared at her stomach.

Lucrecia looked at him and then traced his eyes. "You can't seriously be consid-"

"Just think, in nine months we could have a Cetra, at our current rate it could take years to accomplish." he interrupted.

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Vincent sat alone against the wall of his room at the inn, after this morning he needed something to fill the void within him; his life was like a dark cloud that loomed over him, being a hired killer wasn't easy. Lucrecia had become the only light in his darkened soul, seeing her with Hojo, kissing him, was too hard to bear. He wouldn't let himself be jealous, if she was happy then he would be also, he couldn't see any reason he was needed anymore, there hadn't been an attack against the lab and he was only slowing down the research after his romantic interlude with Lucrecia. He felt like going away, maybe back to Midgar and find a job as a mercenary, or he could travel the world, visit Wutai, anything to be away from Nibelheim.

"No…" he muttered aloud to himself as he lowered his head. Anywhere he went, his darkness would find him, and Lucrecia wouldn't help him anymore, after spending time with her being free, there was no going back to how things were before, he picked up his gun that had been sitting next to him and ejected the clip, one round was still in the chamber. "All I am is a painful memory." he spoke silently. He remembered the first time he had seen her, he thought he had laid his eyes on a goddess; he smiled as he thought of her grace and beauty. "I just want her to be…" a single tear rolled down his face as he finished. "…happy." He swiftly placed the barrel against his right temple and pulled the trigger.


	4. Chapter 4: Sorrow of the Scorned Warrio...

**Chapter - 4: Sorrow of the Scorned Warrior**

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The only sound Vincent heard was a sharp click as the gun misfired; he lowered it down and cupped it with both hands. "How?" he muttered, his voice was shaky, he expected to be dead. If his own gun couldn't kill him, then how could he? Vincent chewed over those thoughts and then decided, the Project must end, he would argue his point.

He dashed out into the streets of the town and hurried over towards the mansion, it was late at night, but he didn't care, just minutes ago, he tried to end his life, common courtesy did not apply to him. When he neared the mansion he heard the front door swing wide open and saw a huge lumbering beast run out, it looked like a man but it had a grotesquely huge right arm and shoulder, it was some form of mutated lab test.

Vincent drew his gun and chased after it, the beast finally stopped running at the top of a short peak, he charged it as he fired rounds off towards it. The bullets sank into the mass of flesh on its arm and it leapt at Vincent, landing a few feet in front of him, the Turk backed up and kept firing as the monster raised its hand and punched him, sending Vincent flying backwards. It lumbered over to the prone man and readied to smash him into the snow, somehow he managed to pull his gun arm up and fire, the bullet passed through the titans head, brain function ceased and it collapsed next to him. He looked at it as the mutation faded and the creature was quite clearly a man.

"Testing on humans is wrong!" Vincent's scream of anger echoed through the halls of the lab.

"We are scientists!" Hojo screamed back. "You wouldn't know anything of sacrifice, you're a hired gun, your job is to kill innocents and you dare question my morals!"

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Vincent grabbed his gun off the desk next to his bed and holstered it, he knew what he now had to do, he had to kill Hojo and stop the insane experiment. He calmly left his room at the inn and walked through the town square, he suddenly recalled the times he would walk through there with Lucrecia, but shook those memories away when he reached the front door of the mansion and opened it. He quietly slipped inside and used the shadows to hide as he ascended the staircase to his right as he had done so many times in the past. When he took the last step, he caught sight of Hojo, standing with his back facing Vincent as he looked out the back window, Vincent drew his gun and aimed at the doctor, he wanted badly to pull the trigger then and there, but he couldn't shoot Hojo in the back without ever knowing why.

"Turn around." Vincent demanded through his clinched teeth, but Hojo stood still and unmoving. "I said, turn around!" a huge lightning bolt flashed through the window and the following thunder shook the building, it was then that Vincent heard it, the faint sound of a baby crying. Hojo slowly turned to face Vincent, in his arms was a baby boy still covered in blood and other strange fluids, wrapped in a white towel; Vincent then noticed that the doctor's lab coat was covered in blood as well as his gloves.

"Go ahead, shoot me." Hojo insisted. "You said it yourself, this baby is an abomination to nature." he continued

"What…did…you do to Lucrecia!" Vincent shouted with intense anger.

"Hold to your principles, you spineless ape!" Hojo shouted back. "I am a man of determination!"

"You're insane!"

"Am I?" Hojo asked as he leaned forward a little, from behind his glasses his eyes gleamed with madness. "Shoot me, kill the child, and save your pitiful little soul you unintelligible caveman!"

Vincent couldn't shoot the child, it was a part of Lucrecia, it was a part of his love, he relaxed his finger off the trigger but still held the gun at his target.

"Real men are men of action." Hojo reminded as Vincent saw him slip his hand under the baby to support it.

"Hojo…give me Lucrecia's child and-" Vincent never finished that statement. Hojo produced a gun from under the folds of the baby's sheet and fired at Vincent, the bullet struck him in the chest and he fell backwards over the railing to the first floor with a loud thud. Hojo dropped his gun then slowly walked down the steps, moved over to the semi-conscious, wounded Vincent and pulled a syringe from a pocket on his coat.

"Ugh…doctor…where…is…Lucrec…" Vincent mumbled as Hojo stuck him with the needle and pumped the drug into his veins. He smiled as he grabbed Vincent's foot and pulled him away with his one free hand.

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Vincent opened his eyes sat up straight, he was in the lab, he scanned the room and saw that most of the supplies had been packed up, then he remembered the bullet and grasped for his chest with his right hand.

"Healed?" he muttered. "Lucrecia?" but she was no where to be seen, he stood up off the table and walked over to a large pool of blood, he couldn't imagine what inhuman sort of birth it must have been, the sight sent shivers up his spine. In anger, he slammed his left hand into the operating table, it was then he noticed, when his ears were met with the sound of steel against steel, that his left arm was plated with a golden claw. He began to shake un-controllably and raised his clawed hand over his head, shaking it at the sky.

_"This body is... the punishment that's been given to me...I was unable... to stop Professor Gast and Hojo... And Lucrecia... I was unable to stop them...All that I was able to do was watch... That is my sin..." _

_Vincent Valentine_

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"Vincent you alright?" came a voice from behind him. "You seem distant."

"No, I was just reflecting on a question." he replied to the younger man with the cloak. "Let's go, Kane, people need us."


	5. Chapter 5: Angered Child

**Chapter - 5: Angered Child**

"Are you sure you know where your going Vincent?" the person walking behind him asked.

"Look." Vincent declared as he pointed to the edge of the forest, they could both see the snowy ground ahead.

From his left Kane heard a sound, a small snap of a twig, he had just looked back a second ago and there was nothing in sight.

He acted cool and yawned, reaching his hand upwards as if stretching and grasped the handle of the axe across his back. He quickly pulled it up and swung it to the left, there was a loud noise as the blade hit the metal covering on Loz's left arm, at that second Vincent spun around and fired two shots in-between Loz and his cloaked friend, aiming at Yazoo whom he had noticed following them for the last two minutes. He ducked in time to avoid the shots that seared the tips of his hair, but also lost his target as he dove next to the bushed and tried aiming again at Vincent.

Loz moved his arm to the left, pushing the axe as he brought up his right arm and punched at his enemy. Vincent jumped into a nearby treetop and vanished from sight; Yazoo still had to focus on him and couldn't help his companion. Kane thrust his body to the right dodging the punch and spun in a right circle to bring his axe around at Loz once again. Yazoo ran off into the forest hoping to confuse his opponent and remove the chance he could be sniped from the trees.

Loz smacked the side of the axe blade with his armored arm and quickly reached down the handle, grappling with it and keeping it immobile. Thinking fast Kane leaned backwards evading another strike from Loz and then kicked out with his foot, cracking into the martial artists kneecap. The momentum from the punch, plus the force from the kick and Kane's weight brought both of them tumbling down.

Yazoo held his gun-blade tight and leaned around the tree he'd been using for cover, just a second ago, a bullet zoomed past him, he knew his prey was nearby. A bullet came at him as he leaned out and back in quickly and hit the tree, sending broken chunks of wood spraying all around and splinters into the silver haired mans face. Yazoo sidestepped out and released a round of cover fire into the woods until he saw Vincent, he was behind a tree, all that was exposed was the shoulder of his mantle. He turned around and came out at the same time Yazoo fired, the shot hit him in the left shoulder, he shuttered with pain and fired his own weapon, the bullet sunk into Yazoo's thigh. Vincent silently berated himself for missing his opponent's knee or artery.

The two rolled around on the ground kicking and punching for a few moments, then Kane managed rolled away and stood, he heaved the axe down and sparks flew as it collided with the bracer again and knocked Loz's arm to his side.

"May deaths journey be easy for you." he muttered while he raised his axe again and cleaved downwards. Midway through the move his world spun as a blunt force met the back of his head, Kadaj's sword handle; Kane fell over face first into the snow at his opponent's feet. Loz stood from the ground and lifted his downed foe, pinning his arms to his side as Kadaj sheathed his sword and began punching him in the stomach repeatedly. Kane's eyes burned with anger as he tried to break free of the man behind him, but he was still dizzy and each punch weakened him more.

Yazoo fired off three more shots all hitting Vincent in the chest, he was now bleeding bad and out of ammo on hand, as he walked up to Yazoo he received another shot to the chest. Five shots, he was nearly dead, but he was also very angry, stress built up within him and he felt those feelings again, he gave into the hatred, he felt horns spiral out of his head and the tail as he transformed in to the Galian Beast.

Kadaj smacked the other kid across the face.

"Where did you take "mother"!" he screamed as he continued his assault.

In all of the pain and through the dizziness, he found the strength to ram his head forward and smash Kadaj in the face as he had leaned in to hit him again. He then quickly stomped on the foot of the one holding him.

Kadaj reared back and rubbed his nose as Loz hopped back a step in pain; Kane merely fell to the floor and passed out as they recovered.

Yazoo burst out of the woods to the path they were on.

"Run!" he screamed as he continued past them.

They looked in the direction he was running from and saw trees collapsing in the forest as something huge rampaged after him, they took off the same way he was headed. The beast roared into the woods as he charged faster after his prey, it took a moment to rip a tree out of the ground to use as a club.

Kadaj paused and ducked for cover behind a tree as he waited for the beast to head his way, the others didn't notice, or didn't care and kept running. When he saw the monstrous thing he drew his duel-bladed katana and leapt at it, it saw him and swung its tree-club at him in mid air. The tree smashed into him and sent him flying the other way for a very long distance far out of the creature's sight. It began to breathe heavily, and slowly his anger left as the beast returned deep into Vincent, he was uninjured now, other then the holes in his clothes he noted as he headed back for his friend.


	6. Chapter 6: Pain

**Chapter - 6: Pain**

_Some time later…_

"Midgar…" Rufus sighed as he sat in his wheelchair on top of a shattered building, flanked by Reno and Rude. He surveyed the massive amount of wreckage that had remained shattered for the past two years. "Shin-Ra is dead…"

"Yes…it is." Kadaj said from behind them.

All heads turned to face him as he walked towards the former president of the company. When he had gotten within a yard of Rufus, Reno stuck out his hand in front of the silver haired man.

Without a second thought, Kadaj grasped Reno's wrist and twisted it sharply bringing the man to his knees with his arm behind his back. Rude acted fast and kicked forward at the younger man. Kadaj let go of his arm and caught Rude's foot. He held his left above the ankle with his left hand and quickly jabbed his right fist into the man's face, knocking him back. Reno came back around at his attacker with his baton, but Kadaj's left hand flew out like lightning and tightened shut on his wrist again. The silver haired man squeezed hard and twisted the baton free as he clasped his other hand around the man's throat. Reno blinked in disbelief as the shorter man raised him up by the throat and started choking the life out of him. Kadaj's strength was amazing beyond his rather small build.

Rude jumped on Kadaj's back, wrapped his arm around his neck and pulled back with great force. He smiled as he threw Reno hard into the metal floor, and then rammed his elbow back, slamming into Rude's stomach. He quickly came back around while Rude wheezed and kicked his legs out from under him before ending by dropkicking him while he lay prone.

As Kadaj recomposed himself, the Turks lay on the floor gasping in labored breaths as pain arced through their bodies.

"Mr. President, the time has come for the awakening." he said as he approached the wheelchair and raised his hand high. A white light bathed his hand in brilliance, as he thrust his palm high towards the sky. The glow flew up and parted the clouds high above as a fearsome roar boomed across the city.

Rufus's eyes widened as the shroud covering his head fell back; he blinked repeatedly and then looked back at Kadaj whom smiled wickedly. In a flash of movement, Kadaj drew his blade and drove it through Rufus's stomach, all the way out and through the back of the wheelchair.

"Kadaj…" Rufus coughed blood up as he looked one last time at his ruined city before all of the world went dark around him.

After a moment, he pulled his sword out and wiped the blood off on the sheet that had covered the president. He saw the box beside the wheelchair; it was a black briefcase with yellow caution tape wrapped around it. As he left with the box, Rude grabbed his ankle and cursed. Kadaj merely looked down at him and kicked him in the chest before leaving.

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The Highwind soared through the cloudy skies as it flew towards Midgar. Kane stood on the deck leaning over the rail, watching the earth run by.

"He's safe, do not worry." Vincent assured the rest of his old team as they looked out at Kane through the glass window.

"He's new, and this is a hard time to trust others, Vincent." Red said as he waved his flaming tail around.

"I have known him for awhile since two years ago." Vincent offered, cryptically referring back to the last time they were all together.

All of a sudden, Kane started waving his hands back and forth while shouting something; Vincent headed to the door and heard him say something about Kadaj before he leapt of the side of the Highwind.

"Is he crazy!" Tifa shouted as she ran outside behind Vincent to look over the edge.

Kane fell through the air and then spread his brilliant white cloak wide, slowing his fall as he flew towards an old worn church.

"We have bigger problems." Vincent grabbed Tifa on the shoulder and pulled her head up to look straight ahead.

In front of the airship was a massive dragon that swooped low and picked up a person from the center of the city.

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Kadaj sped into the church and through the empty isles towards the light that poured in the broken roof above. He rammed on the brakes and parked in a large patch of flowers as his bike skidded sideways to a halt. He twisted to the side and looked down at the box as he stepped off the motorbike. He broke down and started sobbing when he noticed the huge crack along the top of the box.

"Mother…" a tear rolled down his face. "…mother?" he slowly began to oscillate back and forth and let out a mournful scream. "Mother!"

He hadn't noticed the figure approaching from behind him as he kept sobbing.

"Go ahead, cry some more… baby." the familiar taunting voice of Kane came from behind him.

Kadaj stopped shaking and stood still before slowly turning his head around to look the other man in the eyes. His look of sorrow had turned to one of madness, his inner insanity shown on his face as he cracked a wicked smile.

"I think," he started. "You have something of mine."

Kadaj charged towards him, drawing his sword as he went, their steel struck as Kane quickly pulled his axe out from behind him to meet the incoming attack.


	7. Chapter 7: Torment

**Chapter - 7: Torment**

Cloud's bike screeched through the rocky outcroppings surrounding the ruined city of Midgar. His refreshed resolve burned inside him as he continued on, focused on only on the road ahead of him.

He sighed briefly as he heard two engines start up and saw Yazoo and Loz speed out of their hiding spots on the side of the road and begin the chase. Without a moments notice he gave his bike gas and tried to outrun them as he opened the side compartments and drew one of his massive swords.

The chase continued as the hills and fields flew past them while they rocketed towards Midgar and amazing speeds. He could tell they were gaining on him and decided he would have to stand and fight.

He quickly slowed down as Loz's bike came screaming up beside him. Loz turned to his side and swung his left fist around to strike at Cloud. But he quickly dodged the blow as he spun his bike around in circle and over towards his right where Yazoo was. Bullets flew past him repeatedly from the silver haired man's gun blade.

Yazoo shouted something out, but it was lost on Cloud, drowned out by the roar of the motors in his ears. He raised his wide sword high and blocked another bullet from Yazoo as he sped up again.

The two silver haired men fell back and kept Cloud in sight as they sped into the city. Around him was the broken wall that had once kept people in and out of Midgar, it lay as rubble and became obstacles for him to drive around. He saw the highway ramp that had one been held up and pointed to the sky, now lay down, granting him access onto it.

He sped up and shot up and over the ramp; his bike flew awhile through the air before landing on the road with a loud thump. No more then seconds after he reoriented himself, he heard twin thumping noises and turned to see Yazoo and Loz land on the highway.

The lines on the road streaked by beneath him as he sped up again and tried to get far enough away to lose them. Yazoo gunned the engine and zoomed past him before turning to fire shot after shot at him. Cloud pulled his blade up in front of him defensively as he raced at Yazoo and their blades crashed together. The bikes spun out of control as they locked blades and glares, Cloud saw Loz coming up from behind and pushed off the other bike to race on ahead again.

As they went, he noticed a large tunnel ahead and weaved side to side as he darted in, the other two men in fast pursuit. They lost sight of Cloud in the shadows at the start of the tunnel where the lights had burned out.

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The intense hatred between the two combatants was like a roaring inferno as axe met sword in a painful looking game of wits. Kane brought his axe down the middle of Kadaj's twin bladed sword, jamming it in place as he pushed to the side and punched his foe in the chest. Kadaj heaved back hard pulling his blades loose as he lingered back a moment to wait for the next move to come to him, but it would seem his opponent had patience as they stared each other down.

"You have mother," Kadaj smirked. "And I want her back."

Kane ignored his babble and launched another attack at him. The combat continued without pause for along while until Kane got lucky and smacked the side of Kadaj's head with the butt end of his axe. Kadaj fell to his knees as blood poured from the wound on his head, he was disoriented and nearly senseless as Kane walked over to him and looked at him a moment. Kane swung his axe wide at him while he was distracted, but Kadaj lurched under the attack and shoved his twin katana at him. He dropped his axe and stepped back a few steps, the blades had ran through his chest and jammed one of his ribs in the center, blood dripped out onto the ground as he stumbled over to his knees.

The rib cracked as Kadaj pulled his sword out of his opponent and knelt before him.

A white glow came from the orb on his bracelet as he touched the wound he had just caused, it slowly started to heal. He stopped part way through and left the wound bleeding.

"You will live longer, but the pain will hurt worse as you slowly die…" he whispered into Kane's ears.

Kadaj stood and smiled at him before walking off leaving him to die.

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After a few moments they caught sight of Cloud again, this time his tires squealed as he soared towards Yazoo with two of his swords in hand. Yazoo ducked quick as the first blade flew overhead and scratched the leather on his back. He turned his waist around and fired off behind him at Cloud as he spun around and came back towards him. While Cloud raced back for his second run, Loz jumped into the air as his bike continued on past them. When he landed back on the seat he punched his fist down and pulled himself onto the ground, sending his bike up into the air and at Cloud. Yazoo saw the bike and rammed hard on his brakes, forcing him to spin out. Cloud sped up and let go of his offhand sword as he gripped his main weapon in both hands and cleaved the bike into two.

Yazoo cursed as he fell off his bike and Cloud cleared the end of the tunnel, driving far out of sight.

The sky unfolded above as Cloud weaved side to side again as he exited the tunnel, a glace back ensured him that Yazoo and Loz were off his tail. When he looked in front of him again he saw Kadaj walking out into the middle of the road. He grasped his sword tight in his hands as the distance between the two men decreased. A flash of blue light erupted from Kadaj's hand and sent multiple pulses of energy rushing toward the bike. Cloud turned fast as the bolts whistled by and exploded behind him, the fire roared up the rear of his bike, lifting him completely into the air and over an overpass. As he came back towards the road, he swung at Kadaj whom blocked the blow with his twin bladed katana and let it slide off the tip. Cloud ignored him and drove on.


	8. Chapter 8: Misery

**Chapter - 8: Misery**

Cloud came to a halt in front of the old, dilapidated church and kicked out the kickstand on his bike. He saw Kadaj's bike out front, he remembered passing him just moments ago, and figuring something must be amiss, he ran in.

At the end of the pews, he saw the prone form of Kane, lying in a bed of flowers. He rushed to the younger man and kneeled down next to him.

"Kadaj…" Kane explained as he coughed up blood and winced in pain.

"Don't talk." Cloud instructed as he started to look over the wound.

Kane pushed his hands away and sat up; it was a strange feeling to experience a mortal wound that magically seemed to keep him alive.

"Who…are you?" Cloud asked as he sat back in the flowers and though.

"Remember…Nibelheim?" Kane mumbled as he cringed again in pain.

Cloud thought back to his past, he remembered a small blond kid whom had known Tifa but didn't travel in her circle of friends often. His town was one where everyone knew each other even if they didn't know each other well.

"Yes…" he muttered finally.

"We've all…come far from that little town inside the mountains." he smirked. "Somehow I avoided being rounded up with the rest of the town and taken away for testing."

Cloud listened as he remembered the later years when he had gone back dressed as a Shin-Ra guard.

"Yazoo, and Loz…they were there also…remember?" Kane winced and started coughing terribly again

The memories were slowly returning to light as he remembered that those two were rounded up and shipped back to Midgar for further testing in an attempt to clone another Sephiroth.

"It seems so long ago…:" Cloud said as he winced and clutched his arm again.

"Why…why did you come back here?" Kane asked.

"I…thought I might find an old friend, and tell her she was right." he grinned as he started to stand.

"I'm going to close my eyes and rest awhile." he said "Cloud…"

"Yes?"

"Kick Kadaj's ass for me."

Cloud smiled, the irony tasted bitter in his mouth. "I'll come back for you."

"You do that…"

_I think nobody can save them._

_Whether it's family, or friends… nobody_

Clouds bike drove through the streets of Midgar as all around him people panicked and fled.

His mind had one goal.

His target was clear in his eyes.

His goal was simple.

He was going to kill Kadaj…


	9. Chapter 9: Strife

**Chapter - 9: Strife**

"No one else should die for this stupidity…" Cloud said to himself as he reared his bike up and drove over a large patch of rubble.

_This started so many years ago…_

_This ends today…_

He pushed on the gas and sped over a ramp, into a clearing. The clearing was a higher section of Midgar, and the place where he was, was a street that ran out from the hill of metal and still stood erect, jutting out from the core like a cliff. Standing in the center of the clearing was Kadaj. He gazed down on the carnage below wistfully. Clouds bike jumped over another barricade, sending him over Kadaj and landing against a wall of broken piping and wires.

"Kadaj!" he screamed as he jumped off his bike, forgetting the kickstand and simply letting it fall.

"The awakening is nigh, brother!" Kadaj shouted, his voice was cheerful. "Welcome it instead of rebelling against it!"

"This ends now! You and mother must pay for all of the hell you've caused!" Cloud pulled his sword off his back and steadied it in front of him, taking pose.

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Vincent, Tifa, and Cid stood in the center square looking around as many children stood around chanting. Cid put his cigarette between his lips and took a deep puff as Tifa glanced around looking for Denzel.

"Those are going to get you killed one day." Vincent said to Cid as he drew his gun and held it tight to his side.

"Not before my friends get me killed." suddenly Bahamut coasted overhead, flapping his wings and landing a ways away from them.

Cid's cigarette was blow out of his mouth by the wind, and fell on the ground. "Goddamn it!" he cursed before stepping on it and pulling his spear up.

Suddenly it became quite clear to Tifa what the children were chanting all around them.

_Estuans interius, Ira vehementi  
Estuans interius, Ira vehementi_

The same haunting melody from that time two years ago. The rest of their team came up from behind them with Denzel in toe.

Barret moved past as he continued firing at the dragon-like creature, trying to force it backwards as Red XII jumped up on it and ran down its back, biting at its wing.

_Sephiroth!_

Yuffie reared her hand back and threw her weapon at the attacking monster once again. Cid stepped to his right from Tifa and Denzel to smack a leaping Shadowcreeper with his spear.

_Sephiroth!_

Reno's body ached with pain; he was getting tired of being beaten up every day.

"Aren't we all just having a great time?" Yazoo sneered from behind him, quite content with their easy victory.

Reno glanced at Rude whom only nodded in response.

"Most damn fun I've ever had!" he shouted as he spun his foot upwards at Yazoo's face.

The silver haired man ducked under the kick, but as he brought his head back upright, he noticed that in the motion, Reno had slid a steel baton out of the sleeve of his coat; the rod struck him square in the face.

_Sors immanis, Et inanis_

_Sors immanis, Et inanis_

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They dashed at the same time, meeting in the middle with a loud metallic clang as Cloud and Kadaj's blades struck together. Kadaj held his twin bladed weapon underhanded as he pushed against Cloud's massive sword, testing his strength.

Both together, they pushed off, Kadaj leapt into the air and back flipped away. As he landed harshly on his feet, they charged at each other again.

Insanity met anger, as twin bladed katana met buster sword, and Kadaj met Cloud.

They held their blades together and waited for something to break as they pushed against each other as hard as they could. After a moment, Kadaj ran his sword up and down the length of the buster sword before he let up and instantly pushed back again. The action threw Cloud off and his huge sword went flying through the air behind him. As Kadaj came to rest on his feet, Cloud drew one of his smaller swords from inside the back of his overcoat and swung it hard at Kadaj in one fluent movement.


	10. Chapter 10: One Winged Angel

**Chapter - 10: One Winged Angel**

As Cid batted away one of the monsters, another was coming at his back that he didn't notice. Tifa leapt up, spun around to kick it in the face that sent it down to its side as she came back to her feet and landed a punch down on it, snapping its neck swiftly.

_Veni, veni, venias_

_Ne me mori facias_

Yazoo retreated away from combat after a few rounds with Reno, he took cover around a nearby corner leaned out with his gun, aiming to shoot at Reno who he thought was chasing him. When he came out he saw Vincent once again and ducked back for cover as a bullet ricocheted off the stone wall. Reno stopped and figured that the ex-turk would have the situation under control and headed back to help Rude.

_Veni, veni, venias_

_Ne me mori facias_

Loz swung at Rude who ducked to punched him in the stomach; he quickly withdrew from combat and jumped backwards pulling out his gun to aim at the blue suited man. Rude froze and Loz figured he had the advantage with the gun as he grinned, Rude pointed down at the ground, Loz didn't want to fall for a trick but he glanced down. Between his feet were three six sided dice, his eyebrows narrowed as he turned around to see a small black cat with a golden crown and megaphone standing upright on top of a rather fat moggle. The dice exploded sending their unsuspecting victim flying through the air a few feet landing on his back, when he opened his eyes all he saw was a huge pink fluffy fist as the world went dark to him

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Kadaj jumped backwards to avoid the attack as Cloud had drew his backup weapon. They both stood their unmoving and breathing hard. Kadaj started walking around Cloud and spun his blade around and around in circles.

"Cloud…I think your friends need you…" he nodded towards the sky.

Cloud looked up and saw Bahamut, his wings spread wide as a large round orb of blue light began forming in his jaw. He cursed and threw his smaller blade to the ground near Kadaj before running over to the buster sword, pulling it free from the floor, and leaping into the air. During his jump, he felt a surge of energy as he reached his limit. He burst up higher, soaring through the air leaving a trail of blue.

With his sword firmly grasped he remembered the strength, the courage, and the will that he had two years ago. He grunted as he raised his sword in front of him and pierced the energy bubble seconds before Bahamut released it.

The resulting explosion was massive, and it send Cloud flying backwards against the building which he had fought Kadaj at its base. While falling, he thrust his sword into the wall of the building and pulled up, sitting on top the handle.

When he looked up, he saw him. His long flowing silver hair danced in the wind as he soared towards Cloud with Masamune in hand. One white wing jutted out from behind his right arm.

Cloud's mouth hung open, he pushed on his sword and started to fall as it dislodged from the wall. Sephiroth swung down at the falling man as Cloud brought his sword in front of him and parried. They fell down towards the planet, Cloud drifted to the side using his sword to slow his decent as Sephiroth shot down past him and landed on the ground kneeling with his wing bowed in front of him.

Cloud grabbed onto one of the wires that had been used to ferry power across the wall, which once stood against the nearby buildings. Using the building he was falling past, he kicked off, swung out wide over the clearing, and let go of the wire. He landed in a roll and stood, resting his weight on his sword.

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"THE ONE WINGED ANGEL COMES!" Kadaj screamed in declaration from the top of his lungs as he stood on the very tip of the cliff-like road with his arms spread wide.

From below all of Clouds friends could see him standing there as the ground suddenly began to split open.

"We have to go…now." Vincent commanded to Tifa as he came back to where she waited and grabbed her wrist.

"Yea…I think he's right…" Cid mumbled as he started off with them. "Get to the damn Highwind!" he shouted.

From below the crack, Lifestream poured up as the tremors made the crack bigger and bigger.

"AWAKEN MOTHER!" Kadaj screamed as he raised his hands high above his head. In his hands, he held the head of Jenova.

"I…I think you forgot something…" the voice came from behind and below him.

His insane focus was instantly shattered as his twin bladed katana was thrust into his back, through his ribs, and out his chest.

He looked down at the blade tip as it stuck out of his chest and line of blood streamed down. When he turned, he saw Kane on his hands and knees heaving heavy, his outfit covered in blood.

Kadaj started to fall backwards over the ledge, sending him plummeting downwards into the Lifestream.

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Cloud leaned off his sword and raised it high. Sephiroth didn't wait at all and charged forward, swinging Masamune at Cloud. Cloud parried and then spun to attack, but Sephiroth blocked with the lower part of the blade near the handle while his momentum arced the extremely long blade back towards his foe. Cloud swung his buster sword to his left and pushed along the length of Masamune with a continued screech as the razor sharp edges scraped across each other.

Cloud spun again, while Sephiroth worked with his sword in preparation for another attack. As Cloud spun, he raised his sword overhead and twirled it in a circle before bring it down on Sephiroth's blade that had just moved up.

They broke away from each other and Cloud posed with his sword in front of him while Sephiroth turned Masamune upside down and pointed it forward, holding the hilt near his head.

"Your suppose to be dead…" Cloud said in an even, flat tone.

"Am I? In that case, allow me to return the favor." Sephiroth pulled an orb from his sword. It glistened black.

"Black Materia…" Cloud whispered to himself. "Meteor…"

The sky above the combatants parted, and Sephiroth's hand began to pulse with dark energy.

Cloud started to move but suddenly the Geostigma in his arm erupted into pain causing him to fall to his knees cringing.

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_Get up…I know you can do it, get up!_

"Ugh…what?" Kane mumbled as he raised his head and opened his tired eyes.

Before him, he saw Cloud cringing on his knees in agony and Sephiroth holding the Black Materia.

With a glance behind him, he saw the horribly mutated head of Jenova, sitting on the very edge.

"Go to hell, Bitch." he kicked back and knocked the head off the ledge.

It spiraled downward into the pool of Lifestream as he rest his head on the pavement before lapsing into unconsciousness.

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Sephiroth felt something deep inside him snap all of a sudden. And with a blink, his pupils returned to their normal round shape.

"What…" He mumbled as he suddenly notice he was holding the legendary Black Materia.

He dropped the Materia and backed away with his mouth agape. Cloud slowly rose to his feet and watched as Sephiroth fell to his knees with a blank look of horror plastered on his face.

"What…have I done…?"


	11. Chapter 11: Fall From Grace

**Chapter - 11: Fall From Grace**

Sephiroth turned to his sword, and with a look of utter disgust, he dropped it to the ground. Cloud was awestruck but said nothing.

The small white orb had jarred loose from Kane's cloak clasp and rolled across the ground from his prone form, towards its counterpart. The White Materia stopped a foot from the Black Materia and they both floated into the air in front of Cloud and Sephiroth. The two orbs started spinning around and around each other before finally colliding together and fusing into a lifeless gray orb.

"Sephiroth…" Cloud muttered as he slowly took one step forward.

"Y-you…you where there…" Sephiroth moved his hand down to his vest and raised it up exposing his stomach.

The scar he was looking far wasn't there.

"You stabbed me…" Suddenly he remembered the fires as they burned through the small town on the mountainside. "I started the fire…"

Cloud slowly took two more steps, his blade still at the ready. He suddenly figured out what was happening to Sephiroth, it was the same thing that happened to him when he defeated him in a duel inside his head. Sephiroth was regaining full control over his own will.

"I wanted to…become a god?" he asked himself as he looked over his shoulder at his wing.

Suddenly he screamed and he grasped his head while kneeling.

"Leave…leave me be!" he shouted.

Cloud didn't know what to do, part of him wanted to charge and finish Sephiroth off, but the other wanted to help him defeat Jenova as he himself was forced to two years previous.

Sephiroth blinked again, his eyes widening into thin catlike strips.

"NO…MOTHER!" he shouted, another blink and his eyes were normal. "CLOUD, SHES COMING!" he screamed.

Suddenly the ground shook violently; life stream arced up and wafted around at the edge of the cliff. The force had been too hard on the overhang. Without warning, the clearing cracked and plummeted for the Lifestream below, Kane's limp form went over first.

"NO!" Cloud shouted as the ground started splitting.

Whatever had been rising from below was pushed back under as the massive ledge slammed into the hole and plugged it, shutting off the tremors and restoring Midgar to relative peace.

When the dust settled, Cloud and Sephiroth stood at the new cliff tip where the old stretch of road had once been.

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"…It stopped?" Reeve's voice came garbled from the toy Cait Sith.

Vincent leaned over the rail of the Highwind and glanced at the slab where it fell into the fractured city below.

"I thought Midgar was done for this time…" Tifa admitted as she surveyed the damage.

"This is the city that just wont die." Reno sighed as he sat against the wall of the cab of the Highwind.

Cid ran down to the deck and swung the door open. "We aint out of this shit yet!" he shouted over the sudden roar of wind. "There's some pretty dark shit over the Northern Crater!"

Vincent leaned back and walked over to where Cid stood to take the binoculars in his hand. When he gazed through, he could see storm clouds, lightning, and a few tornados frenzying around to the north.

"What we had two years ago may be lost to us now two years later but, it would seem, Cloud managed to regain his strength back." Tifa began with a blank stare. "Where is he now?"

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Cloud gagged on the dust and dirt that was still settling from the near disaster. He turned back to look at Sephiroth, his sword still in hand but held gingerly at his side.

_"Aeris is gone. Aeris will no longer talk, no longer laugh, cry...or get angry..._

_What about us...what are WE supposed to do? What about my pain? My_

_fingers are tingling. My mouth is dry. My fingers are burning!"_

He looked back to Sephiroth, the memory still fresh in his mind. He gripped his sword tighter.

_I could finish him now while he is off his guard…I could end everything here and now._

He took another step closer, Sephiroth did not seem to notice.

_Would it really matter now? Would killing him fix anything? Is this vengeance…?_

He was within striking range, the silver haired man was on his knees staring out at the destroyed city, his sword more then two yards away.

_Is it for the children? For a memory? Or for myself?_

Then he turned his head and looked at Cloud. For the first time Cloud saw the real Sephiroth, his eyes were normal and devoid of insanity. A single tear rolled down the mans face as he looked down to the destruction he had caused.

"J…Jenova…how…?"

"…Beacause you are a puppet." Cloud mouthed the words he himself had previously herd.

Sephiroth's brow furrowed questioningly.

"Jenova…uses everyone, were all just puppets in whatever sick and twisted plan it is. Kadaj, you, me…" Cloud continued. "It has to be stopped…"

Sephiroth looked north, the dark storm clouds were already heading towards Midgar.

"I…" Cloud thought a second and then started again. "…We must face her."


	12. Chapter 12: Guilt

**Chapter - 12: Guilt**

"There aint no way in hell I gonna let him on with us." Barret yelled as he held his arm-gun pointed at Sephiroth.

From the side of the highway where the Highwind had set down, Reno approached, forcing Yazoo to walk in front of him while he held his baton over his head.

"You…" Sephiroth mouthed as he walked over to the other silver haired man, grabbed him around the throat, and lifted him into the air.

"Brother…" Yazoo gagged. "You betray us too?"

Sephiroth ignored him and continued throttling him. Reno watched but had no intension of helping either of them.

"Sephiroth…" Cloud muttered, half tempted to stop him, half tempted to let him finish Yazoo.

"Where is Jenova?" Sephiroth demanded forcefully as he yanked Yazoo's face down to eye level.

"Reunion…" he said.

"Where?" he shouted right in the other man's face.

"Nor…ther…n……Cra…ter…" Yazoo said, fighting off unconsciousness.

Sephiroth grunted and hurled him face first to the ground. He started to rise to his feet as Reno's boot came in, sending him into darkness.

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Barret, Cid, Tifa, and Red sat in the Highwind meeting room as Cloud paced.

"Remember, when I gave Sephiroth the Black Materia." he said, waiting for acknowledgment. "Remember when I almost killed Aeris? I was being controlled by the same master that held Sephiroth dancing on strings. The puppeteer is Jenova, she makes us dance for her delight, for her whims or wills."

"How will going to face her end anything if she controls and spreads so easily?" Tifa asked.

Cloud sat down and turned to face his friends. "I want to give her what it is she wants, a reunion. If all of the Jenova cells are in the same place, maybe then she can finally be defeated. We just cannot leave any trace of her behind to come back."

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"Vincent…I know how you feel." Vincent stood in front of the water near the City of the Ancients, where he had earlier taken Cloud after he rescued him from Kadaj. Uneasily, the entire party had let Sephiroth come with then to the Northern Crater, Cloud wanted to stop where they were for a night before setting off for the final attack. Now from behind Vincent came the voice of Sephiroth, as Vincent stood in though before a large pool of water.

Vincent turned to face him but said nothing.

"I know the feeling of responsibility for your actions." he continued. "I burned Nibelheim, I killed Aeris, and I called Meteor."

"I did not kill you…" Vincent said. "That makes your actions mine."

"You really believe that?" Sephiroth asked mockingly. "You hate me; you hate me because I am your failure."

Vincent stared and said nothing.

"Sometimes…" he tilted his head to the side and looked off into the grass. "I hate you. I hate you for not killing me when you had the chance. I hate you for leaving me alive to do what I have done."

Vincent's face was blank, as if a slate of steel.

"I hate you for loving Lucrecia so much that you could not do what should have been done." Sephiroth had learned much in the journals of the mansion. "I can feel it deep inside you Vincent…the anger, the rage, the hatred. Kill me now, it could still matter, you could still say that I was punished for the evil I had brought."

In a flash of movement, Vincent pulled his gun from its holster, raised it at Sephiroth, and pulled the trigger.


	13. Chapter 13: In Blood We Swear

**Chapter - 13: In Blood We Swear**

The bullet left the barrel of Vincent's gun. Sephiroth cringed as it flew past his head, but opened his eyes when he heard it hit and a scream behind him.

"Ambush!" Vincent shouted as he sidestepped to the right and let loose three more rounds, each hitting a blue-uniformed Shin-Ra guard.

Sephiroth spun around and unsheathed Masamune, cleaving the soldier now in front of him in two. The marine screamed as his remains fell backwards, and Sephiroth stepped over him to run the next man through with his sword. He quickly pulled the sword free of the corpse, tucked it under his between his arm and his side, and thrust it hard behind him, impaling another foe that had charged up.

Gunfire erupted around them as their surprise counter-attack ended. Vincent turned, quickly putting his back towards Sephiroth as he side stepped again and released two shots. A few bullets blew through his cloak as he continued his run.

Sephiroth walked forward as a gun-toting guard fired repeatedly on him with his automatic rifle. Each bullet slammed into his chest but he kept walking and swung Masamune, severing the head of his enemy. Three more men crouched low in the nearby bushed and fired. The silver haired warrior aimed an outstretched palm at them, as lightning shot out, arced over to them, and ignited the patch of trees on fire with the explosion.

Vincent leapt up into the air and disappeared into his cloak as it floated across the lake to engulf a marine on the other side. The man screamed as he faded into the darkness and Vincent emerged. Another guard ran at him from behind, but Vincent spun around quickly and smashed his metal gauntlet into the side of the mans head, sending him out cold.

"Don't move." a voice came from behind Sephiroth as someone rammed the tip of a pistol into his back hard. "Turn around slowly and drop the sword."

Immediately, he spun around and swung, the gun went off seconds before he severed the hand holding it, the bullet hit him in the side. When he paused, he noticed it was Scarlet lying on the ground, blood gushing through her fingers as she tried to hold the stump.

The fight was over in mere seconds. Vincent walked back over to where Sephiroth stood and knelt next to Scarlet. He grabbed her bleeding arm with his right hand and rammed his gauntleted palm down on the top of her wound. She cursed, struggling briefly, but in a second, green light wafted off his hand as her the cut sealed.

He stood back up and looked at Sephiroth. Their talk had been cut short and he still shuffled through what he had told him, in his mind.

Cloud, Barret, and Tifa ran into the clearing breathing hard.

"Wha' the hell jus happened?" Barret asked franticly as he looked around.

"An ambush." Vincent said as he lightly prodded Scarlet's arm with his pointed boot.

Cloud walked over and knelt next to her as Sephiroth sheathed his blade.

"What were you doing?" Cloud asked.

Scarlet huffed and defiantly turned her head to the side. "We were coming here to find the Promise Land, after the incident in Midgar; this looked as good as anywhere to start."

"You'd think they'd jus give dat up already…" Barret scoffed.

"Shin-Ra is dead." Reno said as he and Rude walked out from behind some nearby trees. "Rufus is dead. Midgar might as well be dead."

"It's over…" Rude added solemnly.

"Ignorant grunts." Scarlet spat. "You and the rest of your group always thought you were better then you really were."

Cloud shook his head and interjected. "Are there anymore of you left?"

"Heidegger and the rest of his troop died last year in an accident attempting to find a way into the Lifestream."

"Why would you want to go into the Lifestream?" Sephiroth asked.

Scarlet sighed and looked off into the sky wistfully. "We thought that if the Promised Land wasn't anywhere on the planet, then maybe it was inside it."

"You people are really losing it." Tifa shook her head.

"I've been in the Lifestream, there is nothing there." Cloud explained.

Sephiroth paused and thought a moment. "I remember fleeting things from when I traveled it, under the Northern Crater, there was something, it looked like a city of green crystal. It was being choked by Jenova as she absorbed the power."

All eyes turned to him for a moment as they thought of it.

"If she's killin' the planet, then we're gonna stop her." Barret turned around and started back towards their camp.


	14. Chapter 14: To the Pits of Hell

**Chapter - 14: To the Pits of Hell**

The Highwind swayed left and right as its pilot attempted navigating the dark storm. Ahead were the mountains, and coming down the peaks were four tornados, whipping around, hurling everything in their path. The pilot darted right, around one, then left, between the next two, the last one nearly took off the tail, but they managed to stay in the air.

"We aint gonna make it in one piece!" Cid told Cloud as they stood in the control room and looked out through the windshield.

Cloud mulled it over a moment and then saw more funnel clouds. "Land the ship! Make an immediate emergency landing near the foot of the mountain ring there at the crater!" he pointed out the window.

The ship lurched hard and then went down, scraping the floor of the world. It finally stopped as they coasted into a patch of trees at the foothills of the Northern Crater.

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"That could have gone better…" Yuffie moaned from behind one of the control consuls where she had fallen.

Cloud rose from under a collapsed shelf. "There it is…" He looked up at the Crater above with wide eyes.

They all gathered next to him and looked up.

"Whoa boy, never thought id see that again." Cid mouthed, half under his breath.

"Cid, you, Tifa, Red, and Yuffie wait here and work on repairs. Me, Sephiroth, and the rest will scale the crater." Cloud announced.

"Getting used to the whole leadership thing again, eh ya spikey headed jerk?" Yuffie teased.

Cloud smiled briefly. "Move out!"

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The wind roared violently as they climbed the snowy peaks.

"I wonder how Wutai is this time of year!" Reno shouted over the wind at his friend.

"You'll have time to party when we get outta dis damn place." Barret yelled up as he gripped a rock with his robotic hand.

"If we survive even!" Vincent called out from the side.

"Don't get pessimistic on us Vinnie!" Reno smiled as he continued on.

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Cloud exhaled deeply as he took one last jump and flew over the top. The top of the ring was calm, as it was inside the worse of the weather. Looking down was the pool of green Lifestream as he remembered leaving it two years earlier when the ledges collapsed.

"Little help here!" Cait Sith yelled out.

Cloud moved and grabbed his fluffy arm, yanking him up top. After a few minutes, they all stood there, looking at the pool.

"It's been so long I almost forgot what it would look like!" Cloud said as scraped his foot in the snow.

"What now?" Rude asked as he looked down and pushed his sunglasses tight on his head.

"Maybe…" Cloud mumbled to himself.

He pulled the gray orb from his pocket, the combination of the Black and White Materias. He held it aloft in his palm.

"Hope…" Sephiroth muttered.

Cloud nodded and hurled the orb into the Lifestream below. A few moments passed, then all of a sudden, the liquid started to swirl around and around, eventually forming a huge vortex.

"There's our gateway!" Cloud pointed. "You guys wait here and make sure nothing happens. Me and Sephiroth have to face Jenova alone."

"Why the hell did you drag us all out here then?" Reno yelled.

Cloud started, but Barret cut him off. "Jus shuddap, were 'ere to make damn sure nuthin goes wrong out here!"

Cloud smiled and jumped in. He spun around and around before being pulled under and into the center tube of air. Sephiroth leaped next, and also went right in.

"I…I can't." Vincent stood right on the edge, his pointed boot tips hanging over.

"You can't what?" Barret asked.

"I don't care anymore if it's dangerous for me, all of this is my fault, my failure." he ranted. "I'm going!"

Before anyone could react, he jumped high into the air and glided right for the center.

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Inside the vortex was a round circle of space, surrounded on all sides with green, glowing Lifestream. Cloud rocketed down at supernatural speeds. Sephiroth caught up fast and flew right next to him. Shortly later Vincent joined them.

Soon they could see a blinding white light as they came to a halt and fell out onto a surface. The ground was slick with green fluids. Then the light winked, and they saw everything. A structure made of green crystalline, somewhere deep inside was Holy, on the front was Jenova. Below the waist, she was a bundle of serpent-like tentacles that wrapped all around and through the structure at the heart of the planet, constricting and sucking its life out.

Her upper torso was vaguely humanoid, two arms with six claw-like fingers on each. Her face was feminine, but it shifted as if her true self was nothing but a shapeless piece of clay to be molded. Each of her appearances is only an illusion of a true form that does not exist.

Wrapped in the green crystal-like Lifestream itself, were Kadaj and Kane, one of each side of the massive Jenova body that rest on the structure. The three of them were unable to tell if either was alive, but Kadaj's sword was still impaled in his chest.

"So, Vincent, what do you think you can do without Jenova cells?" Cloud asked as he un-shouldered his sword.

"Nothing." Vincent responded as he pulled his gun out. "But if I get killed, then that's one second that you're lives are not in danger."

"She is calling to us, now is the time." Sephiroth mouthed as he unsheathed Masamune.

"If we die, then the planet is doomed." Cloud said as he took a step forward. "This is the final conflict, this ends now, good or bad there is no escape."


	15. Chapter 15: Calamity from the Skies

**Chapter - 15: Calamity from the Skies**

"Now!" Cloud shouted as he broke and ran to the right.

Sephiroth tore off to the left hand, as Vincent slowly walked forward, firing his gun. Cloud reached the hand and ducked as it swiped overhead. Sephiroth stabbed his blade through the left hand and gripped it tight. The hand reared up and swung him around, he held on as best as he could before it threw the blade free. He rolled to the side fast as the razor claws came back at him again. Several tentacles flew through the air towards Vincent, he quickly reloaded and fired, a bullet blowing each tentacle apart. The extremities sprayed purple blood as they retracted quickly.

Cloud turned his body fast as the hand flew past in attempt to stab him, and cleaved his blade down on the arm. Blood sprayed out and the creature shrieked an otherworldly scream as the sword embedded in it. Tentacles came at him, grabbing him and the blade, tossing them both into the nearby cavernous green wall. He recovered fast and hacked off the tentacles as they raced for him again.

Sephiroth crouched as the hand came at him again, when it got close, he leapt onto it, running up the length as he slid Masamune along the top, gashing the skin wide. Tentacles came at him, but Vincent shot them before they could reach.

He quickly holstered his gun and pulled a shotgun from behind the cowl of his cape. After cocking it, he released a barrage of gunfire on the torso of the hideous alien being. Sephiroth made it to the shoulder and knelt, digging his blade deep into the center of the creature.

The head of Jenova became like a bear, with long vampire fangs and snapped at the silver haired man as he twisted the blade. A lone tentacle came at Vincent as he fired on the head now; he caught it in his golden hand and held it tight, not letting it retract or interfere with his shots.

Sephiroth hopped back, pulling his sword free as the jaws snapped at him. Quickly he raised Masamune and stabbed deep into the middle of the head. It ignored the blow as if it did not phase it, and shifted to the head of a snake. He quickly pulled the sword out and fell back on the ground next to Vincent.

Cloud ran back up to the hand and blocked the claws with his sword, each one leaving a scratch on the blade. After enduring the attack, he ran around and cleaved the same spot he had hit before, severing the entire arm this time.

The alien screamed as it pulled its arm back in pain, and reared its head up into the roof of the crystalline cave, causing shards to fall.

"Look out!" Sephiroth shouted as he tackled Vincent over to knock them both out of the way of a giant, jagged, razor tipped shard.

"Thanks." Vincent offered as he stood back up and fired again.

Suddenly, the left hand swooped in, Sephiroth ducked as it went overhead. The razor claws ran right through Vincent, lifting him into the air as blood poured out his mouth.

"Vincent!" Cloud screamed as he ran up the arm and rammed the buster sword down hard.

Vincent smiled through the pain; Jenova pulled him right to eye level and opened her now shark-like head to bite him in half.

Anger took over. Vincent turned into Chaos; wings exploded out his back as he grew in size and gripped the jaws of the beast in his now clawed hands. Chaos pulled itself off the razor claws and flapped on its wings, keeping it at level with Jenova.

Sephiroth gathered himself and ran towards the being, stopping halfway. He fell to his knees and clutched his head.

"Stop it!" he screamed as he forced himself to the floor.

Cloud stabbed wildly on the arm and stopped to pull his smaller sword out for the closer range. Vincent let go of the maw and flew around to its neck, ripping the shark head off with his demonic strength. Cloud paused a moment, thinking it to be over, but a new head quickly came back, this time that of a woman.

The left hand came at Chaos and batted him into the ground with its fist. He lay there mangled for a moment before returning to an uninjured, but unconscious Vincent. Sephiroth dropped his sword as he screamed in agony and tried to control his own action.

The free hand came at Cloud and smacked him off and across the room to where they fell in at. Many tentacles pulled his large sword out and threw it, sinking the tip right near his feet.

As he stood, he saw Vincent out cold, and Sephiroth on the ground.

"I meant it, this ends now." Cloud muttered as he stood and pulled the buster sword free.

He slowly walked past Vincent and knelt next to Sephiroth.

"I…can't…move…" the silver haired man said, his voice quivering. "Might…lose…control…hurt…someone…else…"

Clouds face contorted with anger while he lifted the buster sword in his one hand, strength suddenly filling him. As the Lifestream flowed into him, he lifted the Masamune in his left hand, holding both blades steady. He walked past Sephiroth and towards the torso.

"My pain matters, you inhuman monster!" Cloud screamed.

The left hand moved for him, he spun to his side and arced the Masamune up through it, severing it. He drew on his emotions, this was truly the one responsible for everything, the death of Aeris, Nibelheim, his friends and his families pain all due to this one entity.

"We hurt, we feel, we are not you're puppets any longer!" he ran at the tentacles and swung both huge swords wildly.

He severed her tentacles apart as he flew at her in a blind rage. For everyone that he cut, more came. They all constricted around him and pinned his arms tight to his side. Jenova began squeezing the life out of him. It was tempting to give up, to let go and die, to be finally done with all of the pain and suffering. His body was over taxed by the Geostigma, his head spun from lack of sleep.

_There is something, much like the planets own life stream that lives inside of all of us, that combats the wickedness that has threatened to consume us._

He remembered Vincent's words, and let go.

From somewhere deep inside, the real Cloud came, the one Aeris had been searching for, not the "real" Cloud, he had already surfaced when he ended the charade with Zack's memories, but the "real" Cloud's soul, his inner Lifestream.

He had reached his limit.

His body pulsed with a blue light as his skin burned through the tentacles as if it was coated in acid. He flew through the air as he had earlier against Bahamut, as he reached the torso of Jenova; he unleashed a mighty omni slash with both Buster Sword and Masamune. His arms flew like lightning, his movements were faster then the human eye could see as he cut, stabbed, and slashed at her, spinning and twirling. As he reached the end, he reared up and cleaved both blades down with as much force as he could.

Jenova screamed, like a human, like a snake, like a bear, all together sounding like a dying feral animal, as her body burst apart and into a puddle of purple ooze. Cloud regained his footing and walked forward, examining the white light that had been hidden behind her.

"A prayer…" he mumbled. "Someone prayed for Holy."

As he turned back, the purple blood flew at him, sticking fast to his chest and legs. He let go of both blades as struggled with it, his blue aura turned purple. With a burst of white light, Holy shot out, engulfing his body in a ray of light. The two lights whirled around each other as the forces fought. From the ground, a tiny pinprick of green light broke through the dirt and muck, slowly it grew and more came. The Lifestream tangled around Cloud's leg, burrowing towards the Jenova. As all the colors met, a blinding flash erupted and the world went white before his eyes.


	16. Chapter 16: The Promised Land

**Chapter - 16: The Promised Land**

Cloud opened his eyes to see he was sitting in a patch of beautiful, perfect flowers. All around him, flowers covered the field as far as the eye could see. He slowly leaned back only to notice that something met his weight. He quickly stood.

"Aeris?" He asked.

She giggled and touched her hand to his arm; suddenly he felt the effects of Geostigma fade from his body as a warmth settled in, soothing the pain and releasing his body's fatigue.

Another hand reached out and touched his shoulder; he turned to see Aeris and Kane standing in the field.

"I knew you'd come back…thanks Cloud." Kane muttered as he sat back down in the grass.

"I think…I understand now." Cloud said to Aeris.

"Understand what?"

"I think, I know why you died."

She laughed again. "It's taken you this long?"

Cloud nodded and smiled as he glanced around the field.

"I guess we all find our Promised Land one day." Kane muttered as he stood again and faced Cloud. "I guess this is what it is like to be dead."

Kane lowered his head as a tear rolled down his face. Aeris slowly rest her arm around his shoulder caringly. He looked up again and smiled half-heartedly.

"Cloud, be happy." Aeris said. "Tifa is worried about you."

"Yea man, were friends right?" Zack's voice came from behind him.

"Yea," He turned and faced the black haired man with tears in his eyes. "Were friends."

"It's time for you to go, Cloud." Aeris said as she moved in and hugged him.

"Stay cool." Zack added as he rest his hand on Cloud's shoulder.

Cloud looked back at them all one last time as the light faded slowly.

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He knelt there with both blades held up, breathing hard as he looked around. Suddenly, the entire cave started to shake and more crystals flew wild.

"Cloud, we have to go!" Sephiroth shouted.

Cloud turned to see Sephiroth, with Vincent's arm hanging almost lifelessly around his neck. He ran over to Kane and looked at him. He was pale, as all life had been sucked from him, leaving only a husk. No trace of Jenova remained, only steam from the evaporated muck.

He ran back over to his companions. "Both of you grab my arms."

Sephiroth held on to him and Vincent, the black haired Vincent clutched around the other arm, barely awake.

As the cave fell in on itself, Cloud burst into the air leaving a streak of blue behind him again as he flew against the cosmic pull of the vortex that they came in on. He felt as if his skin would pull off as they weathered the force pushing against them. In seconds, they saw the sky above and flew out into low orbit.

Cloud turned to look back at the ground; he saw the crater and floated back toward it.

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"Whoa!" Rude shouted as he fell over from the shock as they came bolting out.

Cloud slowly touched down on the snow, his body still sheathed in a blue glow. Vincent fell to the snow as Sephiroth let go of him.

The ground slowly started shaking, then before long, it was vibrating back and forth like a tree in the wind. Cloud was about ready to attempt to fly them away when the Highwind rocketed up.

Barret flung Vincent over his shoulder and ran for the lower deck. Sephiroth picked up Masamune and sheathed it before following. Reno and Rude lost no time and ran for it. Cloud grabbed Cait Sith and flew right up with the Highwind as the Crater collapsed under them, sucking the Lifestream, as well as all the mountains, underneath the planet surface.

"Wait, how is this over?" Sephiroth yelled to Cloud over the roar of the wind and the engines as the others ran inside. "Me and you both still exist and within us the Jenova cells."

Cloud smiled as the blue light faded. "I absorbed Jenova, they are my cells now." he slowly raised his hand.

Sephiroth found himself raising the same hand.

"The larger mass of cells control the smaller ones." Cloud said. "Do not worry…As a former puppet I do not wish to control anyone."

The Highwind flew through the open skies and back towards Midgar. For the first time ever, all of team smiled with the hope that Jenova's defeat would usher in a new era of peace and recovery for their war torn planet.

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Vincent had fully recovered but still felt weak as he slowly stepped into the circle shaped room and saw Lucrecia sitting on the other side.

"Vincent…please…" she echoed quietly.

"I…I'm sorry Lucrecia." he sighed and lowered his head.

"Vincent, please stop, it is long behind the both of us-"

"No, I…I have put that aside finally. I am sorry that I lied to you." He looked right into her eyes.

"W-when did you lie to me?" she asked, not understanding his motives.

Vincent said nothing, merely side stepping out of the way.

Standing behind him was Sephiroth, tears welling his eyes. "M…mother?"

It occurred to the silver haired angel that, as many time as he had said that very same word in the past, never did it truly sound so right.

_**The End…?**_


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